


God of War

by FridaysChild



Series: The Night Guard: Origins [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-27
Updated: 2012-02-27
Packaged: 2017-10-31 19:11:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/347442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FridaysChild/pseuds/FridaysChild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Mars got her powers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	God of War

Quinn twirled her combo lock and opened her locker, reaching for her towel, and then paused, staring. Someone had been in her locker. There was a helmet on the top shelf, polished to a bright, mirror shine. 

She wasn't even supposed to be here. Her parents knew she was taking an evening class at the local community college, but they thought she was taking a statistics course, not kickboxing. They didn't approve of martial arts, especially for women. Quinn had so very desperately wanted to learn karate or something, but had never been allowed; she finally resorted to subterfuge and forgery of her permission slip.

But who had put this in her locker? She was the best in the class and wasn't inclined to take it easy on anyone; others regularly had bruises from her. No one was going to be leaving her anything, so...interesting, even had they managed to get into her locker. It looked like a Roman war helmet. She glanced around. Most of the rest of the class skipped showers at the gym and went home; Quinn didn't have a choice if she didn't want to explain to her parents why she was all sweaty. 

She reached out and took the helmet, turning it curiously. Aside from the high polish and good condition, and the strangeness of the whole thing, there was nothing visibly out of the ordinary about it. She found herself attracted to it, this symbol of strength and power, and raised it to her head, settling it on.

“I see you found my gift,” said a male voice behind her.

Quinn shrieked, turning around, and lashed out with her foot. The man behind her blocked the kic easily, and, first reaction over, she stopped and stared. He was taller than any man she'd ever met – probably a good seven feet tall. His hair was coal black, cropped short, and curly. His skin was Mediterranean tanned. He was dressed in full Roman legion war garb, like some kind of ancient marble statute (only he had arms). But the most remarkable thing about him was the subtle glow around him. 

“Who are you?” Quinn asked, posture defensive.

“My name is Mars, the God of War.” 

Quinn's mouth opened a little. “Seriously.”

He smirked at her. “Indeed. Believe it or not, it's your choice. But in you I sense the hunger. Keep the helmet and you will be my protege, and have what you've always wanted.” 

Quinn took the helmet off, turning it in her hands. “What does that mean?”

“I'll train you. Teach you to fight. It'll be like a Roman – our weapons, our armor, and for the most part, our style. You'll learn war strategy. You'll have 'siblings' in every standing army in the world. And your physical abilities will increase. You'll be stronger than any human other than your siblings. Faster, with better endurance, reflexes, flexibility, and balance. My children would win every Olympic event, should they choose to participate. They don't, though.” His voice growled a little. “The PR I have to do after every one of those damn things to get countries back at each others' throats is ridiculous.”

Quinn rubbed her thumb over the helmet. “Anything else?”

“You'll be able to produce weapons from thin air. Anything Roman-era. You'll have use of my wolf, Lupa, for transportation.”

“And in return?” Quinn asked. She knew nothing came for free – especially not from gods.

“You'll fight. Make war. Sow discord. I don't care how you choose to do it. Use my weapons, use your own. And-”

“Yes?”

“Passion is not forbidden to my children, but they rarely find love.”

Quinn didn't want love. She wanted to be strong and powerful. She wanted to find other people like her and she wanted to fight.

She took the helmet and placed it on her head.

A glow spread over her and she found herself dressed in armor like Mars's. She felt stronger already, like she could lift twice her body weight, and she was holding a sword.

“Good,” Mars said, and whistled. "You will get stronger as you grow into adulthood; you will be better yet." Then there was a rumbling under their feet and a giant wolf phased through the wall, landing with paws spread in front of them. “Come with me, then, and we shall begin.”


End file.
